Oil absorbent based on lauryl methacrylate grafting onto cellulose of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

In this article, a novel oil-absorbent polymer was synthesized by graft polymerization of lauryl methacrylate (LMA) onto water hyacinth (WH) using 2,2 '-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator and divinyl benzene (DVB) as a crosslinking agent. The effects of initiator content, LMA content, reaction temperature, reaction time, and crosslinker content on the superabsorbent polymer were investigated. The prepared graft copolymer WH-g-LMA was analyzed using FTIR, SEM, XRD, and TGA. In the presence of the better cross-linker DVB (1.5%) and contact time of about 25 min, the maximal Q (oil sorption capacity) of co-polymer towards crude and Soybean oils is 23.68 and 25.72 g g(-1), respectively. The Q is reduced when sorbent dosage increased, but it increases with increasing the temperature and reaches a maximum of 40 degrees C. The reusability of co-polymer is characteristic of 7 sorption/desorption cycles.